They continue to break the mold in a myriad of ways, especially younger women who have been lifted up by the hard work and support of their mothers, grandmothers, and other family members who empowered them with a belief in their limitless potential. That spirit of self-reliance and resilience is also helping to fuel rising levels of entrepreneurial success and collaboration. Black female entrepreneurship has grown substantially over the last decade. The most recent U.S. Census Survey of Business Owners showed that Black women are the majority owners in over 1.5 million businesses with more than $42 billion in sales.

The rise in Black female entrepreneurship (and thus Black female buying power) over-indexes consumer industries, including food, health and beauty products. In 2015 the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report called Black women the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, leading the way in number and revenue growth. Interestingly enough there is a sub-segment within this group: the Black female millennial parent. While 9,000 babies are born to millennial moms everyday this group is growing at a rate faster than the US total population. Nearly 1/3 of Black women live with their own minor children, compared to 26% of total U.S. women.

Forty-three percent of millennials report attending conferences, conventions, and exhibitions for educational and networking purposes, but according to Catalyst, the leading research and advisory organization working to advance women in business, 30% of Black women often or always attend conferences and meetings targeted to their race- the highest percentage of any minority. As a result more of these events are adding content and speakers to attract these multicultural millennial women.

Blogalicious Weekend

Since its inception in 2009, BeBlogalicious has served as a platform for female social media influencers, creatives and entrepreneurs; in 2016 their global digital network reached over 14 million. Not a surprising figure, as some 70% of millennial parents use social media to live stream at an event. Eighty-five percent of millennial parents confess they enjoy seeing other people’s unique and unusual live experiences on social media, and Cofounder and Chief Curator Stacey Ferguson shared why this year BeBlogalicious elevated the perspectives of Black millennial moms via their large conference, Blogalicious Weekend:

TED has increased the representation of Black women at its flagship and ancillary conferences in recent months. This year T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison, founders of the largest public health nonprofit for Black women and girls in the United States, GirlTrek, spoke at the flagship TED conference. GirlTrek encourages women to use walking as a practical first step to inspire healthy living, families and communities. Sagashus T. Levingston, founder of Infamous Mothers, also spoke this year on the specific topic of being seen as a professional and not just a single Black mother for TEDxMadison.

Curlfest

Sixty-one percent of millennial parents attend live events so they have things to share on social media, and Curlfest was created four years ago to fill a void in offline experiences for Black women. Called a celebration of Black beauty by the New York Times, this year the event created by Curly Girl Collective drew women from around the globe. Co-Founder and PR Director of Curly Girl Collective Charisse Higgins cites the event as drawing over 400 million media impressions and over 5,000 social media posts.

SXSW

For the past five years SXSW has held panels about changing the portrayal of Black people, but this year they focused their efforts on featuring Black women in tech, film, interactive media, and music. Over 40 Black women either wrote, directed, produced or starred in films screened at this year’s event. Additionally, just as Nielsen’s report discusses the role of Black women in pop culture, one discussion dove into the topic further. 'Feeling Ourselves? Black Girl Power in Music' explored the increasing power and confidence of black women in pop music and beyond.

Christine Michel Carter is a global marketing strategist for innovative, category-leading companies and a thought leader for marketing to black millennial and millennial mom consumers.

By day, I am a passionate global marketing strategist with ten years of progressive experience driving results for innovative, category-leading companies. By night, I am a mom to two members of Generation Alpha. I have become a voice for moms (and uniquely, young black femal...